Integrally formed textile loom picker stick and picker head



P. P; LACEY ETAL 3,415,290

Dec. 10, 1968 INTEGRALLY FORMED TEXTILE LOOM PICKER STICK AND PICKERHEAD Filed Feb. 8, 1967 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,415,290INTEGRALLY FORMED TEXTILE LOOM PICKER STICK AND PICKER HEAD PhilipPatrick Lacey and Wilbur Langley Pridgen, Charlotte, N.C., assignors toNemo Engineering Co., Charlotte, N.C., a corporation of North CarolinaFiled Feb. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 614,579

6 Claims. (Cl. 139-159) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An integrally formedtextile loom picker stick and picker head, comprising respectively acore member and an encasing layer of polymeric material and a body ofpolymeric material integral with the picker stick, enhance the ease andeconomy of operation of a textile loom by the avoidance of recurrenceadjustment and of the introduction of weakness, as have heretofore beennecessitated by conventional maintenance practices.

In the operation of a conventional textile loom, the force necessary todrive a shuttle to and fro through a shed of warp yarns is provided by apick motion. Considerable elfort has been expended by loom designers inobtaining proper action for the pick motion, with the objective beingthe travel of a picker head which engages the point or tip of a shuttlein a substantially straight line, parallel to the path of shuttlemovement. Such travel for the picker head has been obtained throughcarefully designed parallel linkage mechanical movements, which engage apicker stick and guide the picker stick in a predetermined path so as toguide the picker head attached to one end thereof.

As heretofore known, the picker stick and picker head are separatelyformed and are assembled on a loom at the location of use, usually bymeans of a screw or other type fastener which penetrates a portion ofthe picker head and enters into the picker stick. Once the picker headis attached to the picker stick, the parallel linkage is then carefullyadjusted in order to assure that the picker head traverses the desiredstraight line path of travel upon operation of the loom. Whenmaintenance of the pick motion is required, such as replacement of apicker head upon wear resulting from repeated impact thereof with thetip of a shuttle, the subsequently replaced picker head must bepositioned on a portion of the picker stick where the penetratingfastener will engage a fresh portion of the picker stick. Two resultsflow from such a change in location of the picker head along the lengthof the picker stick, namely that the parallel motion must be reset inorder to assure proper straight line movement of the newly installedpicker head and that an area of weakness in the picker stick isintroduced by the repeated penetration of the stick by fasteners forsuccessively installed picker heads, ultimately resulting in failure ofthe picker stick by fracture.

With the aforementioned difiiculties and deficiencies particularly inmind, it is an object of this invention to provide an integrally formedtextile loom picker stick and picker head, formed in accordance withthis invention, so that only a single adjustment of the pick motion atthe initial installation of the picker stick and picker head isnecessary for the entire duration of the life of the picker stick andpicker head. In accomplishing this object of this invention, use is madeof a core member having a layer of polymeric material formed thereaboutto define therewith a picker stick and of a body of polymeric materialadjacent one end of the picker stick to form a picker head integraltherewith. The picker stick and picker head may further comprise areadily detachable nosepiece, to permit replacing that portion of thepicker 3,415,299 Patented Dec. 10, 1968 head which becomes most quicklyworn as a result of contact with the tip of a shuttle, withoutdisturbing theoperational positional arrangement of the picker stick andpicker head.

Some of the objects and advantages of the invention having been stated,others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective vieWof an integrally formed textile loom picker stick and picker head inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section view through the picker stick portion ofthe entity of FIGURE 1, taken substantially along the line 2-2 in FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section view through the picker head portion ofthe entity of FIGURE 1, taken substantially along the line 33 in FIGURE1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged elevation view of the picker head of FIGURES 1and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 of a modified form of integrallyformed picker stick and picker head;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 of the picker head of FIGURE 5;and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the elements of thepicker head of FIGURES 5 and 6.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, an integrally formedtextile loom picker stick and picker head is there shown (FIGURE 1), andthe entity is generally indicated at 10. The picker stick and pickerhead include a picker stick portion 11 and a picker head portion 12formed integrally therewith. Preferably, the picker stick portion 11 isof predetermined dimensions intended to facilitate installation of thepicker stick and picker head 10 in a known textile loom structure. Thepicker stick 12 is located at one end of the picker stick portion 11 toproject outwardly to one side thereof (FIGURES 3 and 4) and includes agenerally conical depression 14 therein, for receiving a shuttle tip asthe shuttle is driven back and forth through a shed of warp yarns.

In order to permit obtaining satisfactory physical characteristics forthe picker stick portion 11, such as elasticity or whippiness andfracture strength, this invention contemplates that the picker stickportion 11 be contructed as a composite of a core member 15 and a layer16 of polymeric material at least substantially encasin'g the coremember to form therewith the picker stick. In the integrally formedpicker stick and picker head 10, the core member 15 is wood, such assecond quality or poorer hickory, and is cut with exterior dimensionsslightly less than the predetermned dimensions chosen for the finishedpicker stick portion 11. The core member .15 has an oversize mountingopening extending therethrough and preferably has an overallconfiguration substantially similar to that of a conventional pickerstick. The layer of polymeric material 16 preferably is moldedpolyurethane, which entirely encases the wooden core member '15, so asto preclude penetration of the core by moisture, and enters the oversizemounting opening to line the same and provide a smooth bearing surfacefor engagement with portions of the pick motion of the loom (FIGURE 2).A body of polymeric material is formed integrally with the picker stickportion in order to provide the picker head 12 (FIGURE 3 and 4).Preferably, the polymeric material forming the body, and thus the pickerhead 12, is the same polymeric material chosen for the layer 16 whichencases the core 15, and may be molded polyurethane cast simultaneouslywith the layer 16.

In using the integrally formed picker stick and picker head 10, thestick and head are inserted into the pick motion of a conventionaltextile loom, and the pick motion is adjusted to parallel the movementof the picker head portion 12 in the desired line of travel relative tothe lay of the loom. With such adjustment, the attention required by theintegrally formed picker stick and picker head 10 is at an end, untilthe unit fails either through fracture of the picker stick portion 11 orfrom destructive wear of the picker head portion 12. Replacement of thepicker head portion 12, with resulting disturbance of the properoperational positioning of the picker stick and head entity 10, is notrequired through the useful life of the stick.

In order to facilitate replacement of the portion of the picker stickand head entity which receives wear from a shuttle tip, this inventioncontemplates that the entity may further comprise a replaceablenosepiece 30 (FIG- URES -7), detachably secured to the picker headportion of a second picker stick and head entity 20. In FIG- URES 57,portions of the second picker stick and head entity 20 corresponding toportions of the first picker stick and head entity described above areidentified by secand and third decade numbers having the correspondingterminal digit. As there shown, the detachable nosepiece 30 is removablysecured to the picker head 22 by a plurality of screws 37 spaced aboutthe conical depression 34 and penetrating the nosepiece to engage thematerial of the picker head 22. Preferably, the nosepiece 30 is formedof a polymeric material similar to or the same as that used for the bodyof material forming the nosepiece 22 and the layer of material 26enclosing the core member 25. In order to cushion the impact of ashuttle tip into the conical depression 34, a layer 33 of an elastomericmaterial such as butyl rubber is preferably interposed between thedepression 34 and the picker head 22, and a portion of the shank of thescrews 37 adjacent the heads thereof is left unthreaded to permitrelative movement of the nosepiece 30 with respect to the screws 37 asthe elastomeric layer 33 is compressed upon shuttle impact.

In the picker stick and head entity illustrated in FIGURES 5-7, the coremember is preferably formed of resin bonded glass fibers, such as aplurality of layers of Woven glass fiber fabric cut to configuration andsuperposed for resin impregnation, while both the layer 26 and the body22 of polymeric material are formed of molded polyurethane. In order toobtain both the desired physical characteristics of fracture strengthand elasticity or whippiness for the picker stick portions '11 and 21,and to obtain satisfactory wear for the picker head portions 12 and 22,it is preferred that the molded polyurethane material chosen as thepolymeric material be a polyurethane which has specific gravity in therange of from about 1.03 to about 1.13 and a Durometer value within therange of from about 90 on the A scale to about 65 on the D scale. Therelative dimensions of the core members 15 and 25 and the layers ofpolymeric material 16 and 26 formed thereabout are preferably such that,when the desired external dimensions are obtained for the picker stickand picker head entities 10 and 20, the thicknesses of the layers 16 and26 of polymeric material are within the range of from V inch to aboutinch.

In the drawings and specification, there have been set forth preferredembodiments of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

We claim:

1. An integrally formed textile loom picker stick a d picker headcomprising:

a core member having the overall configuration of a picker stick,

a layer of polymeric material at least substantially enclosing said coremember and forming therewith a picker stick, and

a body of polymeric material integrally formed with and projectingoutwardly from the picker stick adjacent one end thereof and forming apicker head.

2. An integrally formed picker stick and picker head according to claim1 and further comprising a nosepiece detachably secured to said pickerhead for facilitating replacement thereof without disturbing theoperational positional arrangement of said picker stick and head.

3. An integrally formed picker stick and picker head according to claim1 wherein said core member is Wood and said layer and body of polymericmaterial are molded polyurethane.

4. An integrally formed picker stick and picker head according to claim3 wherein said polyurethane has a specific gravity within the range offrom about 1.03 to about 1.13 and a Durometer value within the range offrom about 90 on the A scale to about on the D scale, and wherein saidlayer has a thickness Within the range of from about i inch to about Ainch.

5. An integrally formed picker stick and picker head according to claim1 wherein said core member is resin bonded glass fibers and said layerand body of polymeric material are molded polyurethane.

6. An integrally formed picker stick and picker head according to claim5 wherein said polyurethane has a specific gravity within the range offrom about 1.03 to about 1.13 and a Durometer value within the range offrom about on the A scale to about 65 on the D scale, and wherein saidlayer has a thickness within the range of from about inch to about Ainch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 574,112 12/1896 Railton 139159 X730,476 6/1903 Rodgers 139l59 2,389,595 11/1945 Carter et al. 139-1572,440,182 4/1948 Muller 139159 2,471,532 5/1949 Menking 139-1572,503,711 4/1950 Bullard et al 139157 2,968,322 l/1961 Downs 139l593,021,307 2/1962 Csendes 2814 3,116,763 1/1964 Nill 139-159 MERVINSTEIN, Primary Examiner.

J. KEE CHI, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 1 39157

